A review by a_reader_obsessed
Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Stunning in scope but heavy on all fronts.

Was this an easy read? Uh, that is a big NO. 

However, Wang won me over with The Sword of Kaigen, and though that story is an entirely different beast, this was no less impactful.

Here, Sciona is the lone woman to have ever achieved highmage status in a world that thinks very little of a female’s place in anything other than nurturing the home. She is ready to impress, and no one is going to stop her.  When she “jokingly” gets saddled with a janitor for an assistant, what Sciona and Thomil discover in the search for bettering the city of Tiran will change not only themselves, but everyone else’s belief system and their place in the world.  

Be prepared to encounter a bunch of hot topics - misogyny, racism, oppression, prejudice, bigotry, religion, overpopulation and dwindling resources are just to name a few.

It’s best not to discuss too many details so one can be equally affected as Sciona and Thomil were. You will be challenged. You will be struck by an ingeniously complex magic system that relies heavily on religious justification. You will be impressed with a totally original world and its varied peoples that inhabit it and how close it mirrors our own dark history.

Overall, I think if you are a fan of Wang, or if you want to take a chance on something different, this author doesn’t shy away from tough subject matter. Again, so very far from being an easy read, but like The Sword of Kaigen, the truth is devastating and tragic, and there are plenty who will fight with their whole being to maintain the status quo, who will hide behind a system that doesn't want to upset their divine given entitlement, but because of a select few, there is a chance for something better.  This author won’t sugarcoat things nor give you a perfect HEA, and the result is a moving tale that will make you ponder one’s own humanity and question what is just, fair, and kind.  There is triumph, there is the start of change, and most of all, there is hope.

Just like Sciona and Thomil can never unsee or unknow what they find, I too was affected the same way and won’t soon forget.

Thank you to the author and Del Rey via NetGalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review